Hawkes v. Mobley

163 S.E. 494, 174 Ga. 481, 1932 Ga. LEXIS 74
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedFebruary 23, 1932
DocketNo. 8318
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 163 S.E. 494 (Hawkes v. Mobley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hawkes v. Mobley, 163 S.E. 494, 174 Ga. 481, 1932 Ga. LEXIS 74 (Ga. 1932).

Opinion

Atkinson, J.

T. W. Hawkes was owner of certain policies of insurance upon his life, in which his wife Bubie L. Hawkes was the designated beneficiary. One of the policies was issued by the [482]*482Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States (a corporation), for $5000. The others were issued by other companies for different amounts. The sum total of all the policies was $20,340. Each policy contained a clause authorizing the insured to change the beneficiary by complying with certain specifications. On August 29, 1930, the insured, being president of the Merchants & Mechanics Bank of Macon, was ascertained to be a defaulter to that institution in the amount of $91,000. The bank was taken over by the State superintendent of banks, as an insolvent institution, for liquidation. On the night of the same day the insured executed to the bank written assignments of each of the policies. In each instrument or assignment a change of beneficiary was made by designating the bank as beneficiary. These instruments were executed in duplicate, and were delivered to the bank, and one of the duplicates was filed at the home office of the respective insurers issuing the policy to which the duplicate related. Two of the companies received the assignments, but required them to be made on forms furnished by such companies. Such assignments and changes of beneficiary were re-executed on such forms and forwarded to those companies on November 25, 19,30, and were accepted. T. W. Hawkes owned certain realty in the State of Florida of the supposed value of “several thousand dollars,” and certain other realty in the State of Georgia of unstated value, which he also conveyed to the bank. Mrs. Hawkes joined in the deed to the realty in Florida, in order to comply with the laws of that State. T. W. Hawkes died December 27, 1930. Four days after his death Mrs. Hawkes instituted suit against the superintendent of banks, the bank, and all the insurance companies, to require them to interplead, and for a decree awarding the proceeds of the insurance policies to the petitioner, and to set aside the deeds to the realty in order that petitioner might apply to have a year’s support set apart from such' realty; and for general relief. The insurers answered and paid into court the amounts due on their respective policies; and they were discharged from all further liability. The petition as amended alleged all the foregoing and other facts which sufficiently appear in the decision. The superintendent of banks, and the bank filed a joint demurrer. The Equitable Life Assurance Society filed separate demurrers to the petition and to the petition as amended. All the insurance companies, having [483]*483answered and having paid the amount of their respective policies into court, were discharged from further liability, and by consent were dismissed as parties to the case, except the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, which was permitted to remain a party solely for the purpose of sustaining the right of the insured to assign, without the assent of the beneficiary, the policy issued by that company. The petitioner excepted to the sustaining of the demurrers and the dismissal of her action.

In an ordinary life-insurance policy, where power to change the beneficiary or to assign the policy is reserved to the insured, the issuance of the policy does not confer upon the beneficiary a vested right or interest or more than an expectancy (Nally v. Nally, 74 Ga. 669, 58 Am. R. 458; Ogletree v. Ogletree, 127 Ga. 232, 55 S. E. 954), and the insured may assign the policy in payment of his debt without the consent of the beneficiary, although the beneficiary be his wife. Farmers State Bank v. Kelley, 155 Ga. 733, 737 (118 S. E. 197).

(а) The request to review and overrule the decision in Farmers State Bank v. Kelley, supra, in so far as it supports the principle ruled above, is refused. Merchants Bank v. Garrard, 158 Ga. 867 (124 S. E. 715, 38 A. L. R. 102).

(б) Where the right of the insured is reserved to “change the beneficiary, the insured may change the beneficiary.

(c) A different ruling is not required by the decision in Smith v. Head, 75 Ga. 755, in which the life-insurance policy involved did not reserve to the insured the right to change the beneficiary, and the insured died without having 'assigned the contract or changed the beneficiary.

(d) In the instant case the policy issued by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States designated the wife of the insured as the beneficiary. The policy provided that the insured may change the beneficiary “by a written request, . . filed at its home office, but such change shall take effect only upon the endorsement of the same hereon by the society;” also that the insured “may, without the consent of the beneficiary, surrender, assign, or pledge this policy and receive, exercise, and enjoy every benefit, right, and privilege conferred upon the -insured by the terms hereof;” also that “no assignment of this policy shall be binding upon the society unless in writing and until filed in its [484]*484home office. The society assumes no responsibility for the validity of any assignment.” The petition alleged that the insured executed an assignment of the policy to the bank as a creditor, embodying in said assignment a clause that the name of the beneficiary therein should be changed to the bank, also that “the attempted change of beneficiary and . . assignment” is null and void, because petitioner as designated beneficiary liad a property right in the policy which could be legally divested only in the specific manner provided for in the policy and by strict compliance with the law. The particular ground of complaint alleged is that “no entry whatever of any change of the beneficiary, or of any assignment thereof, has ever been entered on or attached to the said policy by the company, or by any one else.” The further allegation was made that the attorneys for the bank mailed to the company the assignment in question, and that the company “acknowledged receipt and noted it of record.” Held: (1) In view of the rights reserved to the insured, the petitioner obtained under the policy of insurance only an expectancy, and the insured could change the beneficiary and assign the policy, without the consent of petitioner. (2) If one other than the insurer could raise the question (Farmers State Bank v. Kelley, Merchants Bank v. Garrard, supra), the written change of beneficiary, received and “noted of record” by the company, was substantial compliance with the provisions of the policy and as against the petitioner was a valid change of beneficiary. (3) The facts distinguish the case on this point from Chance v. Simpkins, 146 Ga. 519 (91 S. E. 773), in which on different facts a different result was reached, and it was said “there is no suggestion that the insurance company in this case ever consented to any change in the terms of the contract made with the insured.” The 'facts also distinguished the case from Thomas v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 144 Ga. 367 (87 S. E. 303), in which the insurer was defendant, and the petition, though alleging that the insured had signed a notice to the company of a substitution of the name of the alleged transferee for that of the beneficiary, failed to allege that such notice was presented to the company for endorsement before the death of the insured.

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Bluebook (online)
163 S.E. 494, 174 Ga. 481, 1932 Ga. LEXIS 74, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hawkes-v-mobley-ga-1932.